Earth Overshoot Day
Summary
August 1, 2024 is “Earth Overshoot Day.”
Each year, we use more resources than the Earth can regenerate in 365 days. The date upon which we exceed our annual resource “budget” is known as Earth Overshoot Day.
This article will explain how Earth Overshoot Day is calculated and how we can move this date by creating a more sustainable future.
What is Earth Overshoot Day?
Each year, the Global Footprint Network calculates the date for Earth Overshoot Day, which marks the date when we – as a human race – have used up all the natural resources the planet can naturally regenerate over the year.
To do this, the Global Footprint Network examines two key elements:
- Earth’s biocapacity: The Earth’s ability to generate renewable resources and absorb waste
- Humanity’s ecological footprint: The demand humans place on nature, encompassing resource consumption and emissions.
These global ecological footprint and biocapacity metrics are determined using UN statistics. To estimate the date of this year’s Earth Overshoot Day, ecological and biocapacity are “nowcasted” to the current year using the latest data from additional sources, such as the Global Carbon Project.
The exact date is calculated by dividing the planet’s biocapacity by humanity’s ecological footprint, then multiplying the result by 365 (366 in 2024, as this is a leap year).
The result is the number of days before we surpass the Earth’s capacity, leading to resource depletion and ecological harm.
And, in 2024, that day is Thursday, August 1.
Although Earth Overshoot Day has held steady for a decade, it occurs early in the year, just after seven months. For the remainder of the year, humanity lives from overuse, further depleting the biosphere.
So, even as the date holds steady, the pressure on the planet keeps increasing, since damage from overshooting accumulates over time.
Country overshoot days
Each country has its own individual overshoot day. This is the date on which Earth Overshoot Day would fall if all of humanity consumed like the people in that country.
On January 1, country overshoot days are published using the latest year of the most recent national footprint and biocapacity accounts. So, the 2024 country overshoot days are based on 2023 data.
Country overshoot days for 2024 include:
| Country | Date in 2024 |
|---|---|
| United States | March 4th |
| Ireland and Germany | May 2nd |
| France | May 7th |
| United KIngdom | June 3rd |
| Mexico | August 29th |
Not all countries have an overshoot day, though. If a country’s ecological footprint per person is smaller than global biocapacity per person (1.5 gha), then the world wouldn’t use up the entire resource budget for the year within a year, if all humanity lived like them.
Why is Earth Overshoot Day important?
Earth Overshoot Day is a reminder that our everyday practices, habits, and decisions have a big impact on the environment and are not sustainable. This includes the way we travel, the clothes we wear, and our use of technology, such as visiting websites on the Internet.
While the number is always changing, at the current rate we require the equivalent of 1.75 Earths to provide the resources we use and to absorb our waste.
“Every scientific model used to account for human demand and nature’s supply shows a consistent trend – we’re well over budget, and that debt is compounding. It’s an ecological debt, and the interest we’re paying on that mounting debt — food shortages, soil erosion, and the build-up of carbon in our atmosphere — comes with devastating human and monetary costs.”
Global Footprint Network
Moving the date of Earth Overshoot Day
It is possible to move the Earth Overshoot date back, if we reduce the use of raw materials and increase reuse and recycling rates.
Policy and regulation
But far more rapid and wide-reaching action will be needed to deliver more progress. Changing the global economic system to eliminate waste and pollution will require action from international forums and domestic governments.
On an international basis, nations can include resource consumption and waste management in their plans for achieving the Paris Climate Agreement – their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
National and regional examples of policy-making for a circular economy include:
- The EU’s Circular Economy package and Action Plan, which mandate eco-design and include measures to scale funding for recycling
- Kenya’s ban on plastic bags and extended producer responsibility rules for other plastics
- Amsterdam’s ‘Donut Economics’ approach, which feeds into the Netherlands’ plan to become a fully circular economy by 2050.
Change businesses practices
In your business, you can make an effort to conserve energy, reduce waste, and use renewable electricity.
Transportation and commuting to work are important aspects of sustainability, which is why remote work is popular for many organisations aiming to reduce their emissions.
If Earth’s history is compared to a calendar year, modern human life has existed for 37 minutes, and we’ve used one-third of Earth’s natural resources in the last 0.2 seconds.
World Wildlife Fund
Adopt more sustainable habits
We need to make more conscious choices to reverse the trend and use fewer of our precious resources. When you’re considering a purchase, ask yourself if it’s needed or if there’s a better option available.
Personal habit changes can include:
- Reducing your food waste at home: 70% of the UK’s food waste is from consumers
- Repurposing items instead of discarding: Using reusable bags, bottles, and containers
- Ending fossil fuel use in your daily transport and heating.
How can Kanoppi help?
A good first step is to be more conscious and understand the tangible impact your daily actions have on the earth’s resources.
Take, for example, technology like your laptop, smartphone, and use of the Internet.
Start by measuring the carbon footprint of your website so you can begin optimising your site and reducing your digital carbon footprint.
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Louise Towler
Founder of Kanoppi and WordPress agency Indigo Tree, with deep expertise in WordPress websites, technical SEO and commercial performance for clients across the UK.
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